What does PM Imran want to achieve through frequent reshuffling of ministers?

Islamabad: The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has moved an adjourned motion in the Senate objecting Prime Minister Imran Khan’s repeated shuffling in the Cabinet members.

Too much reshuffling in the Cabinet causes instability in the policy decision making process, the party raised objections in the motion.  Senator Kamran Murtaza of JUI-F submitted the motion in the Upper House.

“The House may discuss the issue of repeated shuffling in the federal cabinet which adds to the miseries of the people of the country due to resultant discontinuity of policies in the ministries,” the content of the motion reads.

Ministers’ portfolios have been changed on a frequent basis which not only causes inconsistency in the performance of the ministers but increases the public irks.

Fawad Chaudhry to Resume Previously Initiated Reforms

The day the JUI-F submitted adjournment motion against repeated shuffling of ministers, Fawad Chaudhry resumed charge of the Minister of Information and Broadcasting again. On the first day in his office, he announced that all the policy reforms he had initiated during his first term as Minister in 2018 have been resumed.

It is to mention here that Fawad Chaudhry was given the portfolio of Information Minister in August, 2018 when the PTI government assumed the administrative control of the country after ‘controversial general elections’.  He remained the Information Minister from 20-08-2018 to 18-04-2019.

Later he was given the portfolio of Minister of Science and Technology and Firdaus Ashaq Awan was given charge of the ministry as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting.

However, she was also removed from her position and Shabli Faraz was given charge of the ministry. Now Fawad Chaudhry has been handed over to the ministry charge again.

 Change In Portfolio, But How Many Times?

The PTI government took charge of the country in July 2018 after taking lead in the 2018 general elections. During almost these three years, the Prime Minister has reshuffled ministers of various ministries, including the ministry of information and broadcasting.

According to a record, this correspondent received from the Cabinet Division under the Right of Access to Information Act, 2017, Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar remained the most shuffled minister as he his ministry was changed five times followed by Azam Khan Swati and Dr Farogh Naseem four times respectively.

How do people interpret this frequent reshuffling?

Tariq Nawaz, a retired bureaucrat from Islamabad, says the PM is giving cover to his inefficiency and incapabilities by reshuffling the portfolios of his inexperienced and inefficient team members.

Moreover, since he and his team lack the qualities of competence, skill, dedication and sincerity, they couldn’t be able to deliver in any segment of the country and therefore he can’t even pay attention to the real issues like economy, political tolerance and international relations.

Since his beginning in power he has involved himself in an irrelevant and unnecessary debate with opposition which shows his non serious attitude and is against the personality of a responsible and serious leadership.

Tahir Rasheed says “the PM wanted to do many things but could not carry out even one of them. I think he is a helpless PM.”

Fahim Akhter from GB says, “He is trying to hide how inabilities and wrong decisions were taken in the past. He has been showing off himself as a personality like Mahathir Mohamad, and he is still trying to depict the same.”

Shaista Khan says, “Being a leader, he is not sure which team member is capable of what!. Sheikh Rasheed has failed in performing in Pakistan Railways and now he has been given the portfolio of Interior Minister to fail it as well.”

Rana Ahmed, real estate investor, says they are just wasting time. While Hydiat Arman from Peshawar responds as “Just like raw experiments in a laboratory by a dull student!!!”